Ghost of Yesterday
by Sam.Joann
Summary: The end of the world has come. Yugi, Jonouchi, and Kaiba have witnessed it from the window of Kaiba's home office, and no one knows what has happened. Kaiba is blind. Yugi is injured. This leads Jonouchi to take the lead. Will they find the others? Or will they be swallowed up by the warzone that is now Domino? future pairing: violetshipping
1. Chapter 1

Ghost of Yesterday

The end of the world has come and gone, leaving the gang in shreds. Yugi, Jonouchi, and Kaiba have witnessed it from the window of Kaiba's home office, and no one knows what has happened with the rest of the group. Everyone is desperate to find out what has happened to their loved ones, but Domino is a warzone now and searching is out of the question without protection. The men must adapt. They must learn to cooperate with each other. And they must hope for the best.

Chapter 1: The Four of Them

He couldn't see anything else except for the blank canvas. He figured he wasn't blind because he wasn't just in a sea of black. There were a few specks of white. Kaiba reached around blindly, trying to block out the loud, piercing ring in his ears. Where was Yugi? Jonouchi? They had just been talking a few moments before the white light and what sounded like a god-like thunder. His hand finally fell on some fabric, and it was instantly grasped. He felt himself be pulled from the ground. The muffled words of his companion was pressure in his ear drums.

Then it happened. The white receded into blackness. And Kaiba panicked. He turned to his companion and desperately stared in their direction. His body felt weak from whatever had happened.

"Kaiba, Kaiba. Say something," he heard. It sounded like Jonouchi. Hands touched his shoulders and he felt himself rock on his feet. "Yugi, he's bleeding. Try to find something."

"Sure."

Footsteps pounding on the floor.

Pain shot through his head. Kaiba touched his hand to the area that hurt and felt stickiness. He was suddenly guided somewhere, heard the sound of items being shoved around, and felt himself pushed onto his couch. Somebody sat next to him.

"Kaiba, can you hear me?" It was Jonouchi again. The blond's hand rested on Kaiba's shoulder.

Finally, Kaiba said, "Yes."

"Thank God," Jonouchi said. "How're you feeling?"

"I have a terrible headache and I can't see a thing. What happened?"

The sound of pounding on the floor returned, and he suddenly felt a cloth lightly pressed on the sore spot in his head.

Yugi's soothing voice rose from the blackness. "Kaiba, you need to lie down."

Again he felt a set of hands push him to the seat of the couch. He hated feeling as though his fate was determinant of the two, but Kaiba let them. His head heart too much.

"I found some medical supplies. We can help with the pain, but we need to make sure he stays awake until we're sure he'll be okay." Yugi again.

Frustration bubbled in Kaiba. He snapped and said, "What the hell happened?"

He cringed at the ache in his head.

"We don't know. There was just this light and loud noise and then the windows shattered and we were thrown across the room. You know just as much as we do," Jonouchi said.

That was more than what Kaiba knew. He refused to admit it. Instead, he touched at the cloth, feeling the warm hand of one of the two other men. He pressed at the spot and cringed again. He wasn't sure what to say at this point. He couldn't even remember what they were speaking about prior to the...accident? Could he even call it that? Kaiba tried to remain as stoic as he could for someone who was bleeding profusely from his forehead. A part of him wanted to check in with Jonouchi and Yugi, but they weren't at that kind of relationship yet. They had just started talking on the regular.

"You're going to need stitches. It's a pretty nasty cut," Jonouchi said. He heard a chuckle escape Jonouchi. "Lucky for you, I am a damn near expert on sewing myself up. I don't see a difference in doing it to another person. Just need to help with the pain."

"There's plenty of alcohol," Kaiba said, unemotive. He didn't particularly like the idea of Jonouchi approaching him with sharp objects. They still had a hate-slightly like relationship, and it mostly leaned toward the hate spectrum.

The pressure on his head was peeled off. The spot was dabbed, and then Kaiba heard the sound of the medical supplies being dug through. Across the room, he heard someone go through his desk drawer-he assumed it was Yugi since it was him that Kaiba shared a drink with in the study normally. He would know where it was. After a moment, he sensed the presence of someone near him and the smell of whiskey. Yugi guided him to sit up and offered the bottle to him. Kaiba took a large swig from the bottle.

Somebody brushed Kaiba's hair away from his forehead, and he figured it was Jonouchi because he started feeling moist towelettes dabbing at the allegedly large cut on his head. He took a sip from the bottle again. He was starting to feel the warmth of the alcohol in his body.

Jonouchi piped up. "All right. I'm gonna start with the stitches. Take another swig before I start."

Kaiba did as he was told.

It wasn't long before he felt a needle hook into his skin and a length of fishing line was pulled through. It started from the crown of his head down to his eyebrow. The process was slow, and the alcohol sometimes didn't help. He shifted in pain until Jonouchi handed him some pills. Kaiba downed whatever it was with the whiskey. Finally, he heard the snip of scissors and the tug of the line slackened. Exhaustion overwhelmed Kaiba then, and he leaned back onto the couch.

What had happened?

Fear suddenly gripped him.

What about Mokuba? He was out with friends when whatever this thing was happened. Was he okay? He shot up from his spot only to feel his head swim.

"Whoa, Kaiba," Jonouchi said. Jonouchi's hands gently pushed him back down. "You need to rest."

"M-Mokuba."

Silence met him, and dread overwhelmed him.

"How is Mr. Kaiba?" It was Isono.

"Isono, have you heard from Mokuba?"

Again, silence met him, but Isono finally said something, "It is my number one priority to find the young Mr. Kaiba."

"What? You're not thinking of going out there on your own right now, are you, Isono?" Yugi said. "We should at least wait until daylight."

"Which means we should barricade the doors. Maybe we should move to the dining hall. It's close to the food, and we're all familiar with the layout."

"Jonouchi, this isn't some stupid apocalypse movie. Don't take on the role as leader just like that," Kaiba said.

Jonouchi growled. "I don't care. Something happened outside, and I want to be sure that we're okay. Besides, what's wrong with me taking lead?"

"Plenty of things," Kaiba said, threatening.

"Stop. This isn't going to get us anywhere," Yugi said. "Kaiba, you're blind. I'm hurt. Jonouchi and Isono have been making decisions here since it happened. I think you should trust them."

"I'll trust Isono."

Jonouchi sighed loudly. "Unbelievable. Even when we're facing _disaster_ he can't remove the stick up his ass."

"I'm blind, not deaf, you idiot."

"You know, you're being pretty ungrateful to the guy who just stitched you up. How about a thanks?"

"Maybe when this headache goes away."

Despite himself, Kaiba agreed to go to the dining room. He struggled on the way down, but Isono had an arm wrapped around his waist and showed him the way down the stairs. Things were easier when the stairs were out of the way.

He hoped that this blindness was temporary. He had to rely on people he normally didn't want to rely upon, though it was a relief to have Isono around. The man had never given Kaiba any reason to doubt his loyalty. It wasn't as if Yugi and Jonouchi gave Kaiba a reason to doubt their loyalty; they were incredibly kind to him despite how he treated them at times. He felt someone guide him to the floor against the wall. It didn't matter who it was. He only wished that he could look at his picture of Mokuba in his pendant to ease his anxiety.

"Here." Jonouchi gave Kaiba a cushion from a couch.

Kaiba accepted it and thought a moment. Was this what it was going to be like now? The four of them? He cleared his throat. "Thank you for your help, Jonouchi."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Four Of Them 2

 **I, of course, said little in my first chapter. This is just a fun side-side-project to my side-project to my main project. I'm planning on following the perspective of all four of these characters, including Isono. Now, Isono will have the most freedom and therefore will be the more difficult character to write, but we shall see. Thoughts, opinions, go!**

Yugi cringed as he settled on the floor away from Kaiba, Jonouchi, and Isono. He needed to be alone for a bit. When the explosion(?) happened, he had been thrown into Kaiba's mahogany desk and then over onto the floor. He remembered hearing two distinct cracks and a great thud on the ground. His ribs screamed in pain, and his shoulder, even after it was re-set, was throbbing. His head was still ringing from when he hit the ground. Everyone else only knew about the shoulder injury. He didn't want to cause too much of a stir.

Yugi glanced up at his companions. They all wore pensive looks on their faces. Kaiba-he worried about the most-lolled his head back, unseeing, right hand clutching his pendant; Yugi knew that he could heal, but blindness couldn't be fixed so easily. Besides, he wasn't so sure about the other unseen injuries in the CEO. Isono...he barely knew him aside from the occasional interactions. Formal. Kaiba trusted him though. The older man rested his forehead on his palm and picked at the rug. And then there was Jonouchi-he was lucky. He was scraped up a bit, but in the end, he was probably the least roughed up.

A shiver went up his spine. He looked around and saw drapes flapping in the wind, threatening the flames of the candles in the room. Nervously, he looked to Jonouchi, who stood and took in the sight. Soon, he expected, Jonouchi would request help for covering up the windows with whatever debris they could find, and then Yugi would have to hide all hints of pain in his ribs and fight the swimming in his head. For now though, he tried to rest. For the most part, before the explosion, he, Jonouchi, and Kaiba were getting along quite well. While he wasn't necessarily competing anymore, Yugi was always involved in upcoming tournaments sponsored by Kaiba Corp. One had been in the making, and to everyone's surprise, Kaiba tried to make Jonouchi more involved. This had been the topic when it happened-the tournament, but now, that was obviously the last thing on his mind.

Grandpa. Anzu. Where were they? Were they okay? He knew that they were together preparing for a release of a new game at the shop. What could have happened? Yugi grasped his hands together and squeezed. His heart raced. What if? What if something happened to them? He dared not to try to go outside in the dark to scope things out. There was no point. The power was out and the only lights they had in the mansion were the candles the handful of household staff had managed to scrounge up. The dining room was now like a pharaoh's tomb.

Shuffling from down the hall jerked Yugi from his relaxed position, and pain coursed through his entire body. He suppressed a cry. His fears were quelled when he realized it was the staff bringing blankets. That would help with the cold, was all that Yugi could think of.

His eyes met Jonouchi's. Yugi steeled himself and stood. Isono was by his side in a moment.

"We need to cover up a lot of these windows. We can't do all of them, but we can at least start. Then we can take shifts to keep guard. We have no idea who is out there, and we happen to be at the home of the wealthiest man in Domino." Jonouchi walked to an intact window and stared out. "I just think we should be safe."

"What do we need to do then?" Yugi said. He dreaded what Jonouchi was going to say next. He suppressed the searing pain in his ribs. Suddenly, he noticed a concerned look from Jonouchi.

"I was hoping for some feedback on your end, Yugi." The blond inched forward. "Are you okay? You look pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Yugi looked around, then grabbed a candle, walking to the dining table. He ran his hand along the side of it, feeling for any gaps. He stopped at one, flipped up the tablecloth, and lied down beneath the spot, finding latches. Inhaling deeply, Yugi sat up and said, "Here. We can split up these sections and treat them like barriers. The table's heavy, but we have enough hands to to it."

Yugi shot a look at Kaiba. The brunet still had a vice grip on the pendant, but his face had changed to something else. Pure hate. He did not want to get involved there. He had his own things to worry about at the moment.

Jonouchi was now at his side. "Sounds like a plan."

Jonouchi waved over the staff members and Isono.

"Yugi, since you know where the first set is, could you unlatch the section? We'll hold up the pieces."

He didn't want to, but he didn't want to burden them either. Yugi nodded. He found himself beneath the table, in dim light, the bottom of the table staring forebodingly back at him. Like the inside of a coffin. He pushed that out of his mind. There was no sense in thinking like that. He calmed his breathing and said, "Are you ready?"

He heard the table shift and groan as it was lifted from the floor slightly. The fronts of people's shoes popped into his periphery.

Above, Jonouchi said, "Ready."

Quickly, Yugi fiddled with the first latch. It came free with ease. He scooted to the center, ignoring the pain in his side. He undid the latch there. Again, he scooted. The latch didn't give.

"Damn it."

"What's wrong?"

"The latch isn't budging. Give me a second." He grabbed the latch and strained himself to free it. After a few moments and after sharp pain rippled throughout his body, it freed itself. He said, "There. Pull it apart."

One section was done. There were three more sections to undo. It was the same process for each of them. Not all of the latches would budge, and Yugi slowly started seeing dark spots, the pain now white hot. Finally, after what felt like hours but was actually only five minutes, Yugi was able to stand and examine his work. The four sections of the table were laid out in front of him. He sighed in relief.

"Okay. There are two ways to enter this room," Yugi said, indicating with his finger the two doorways leading out of the room. "We'll stagger these. Two on one side; two on the other. Okay?"

"Got it."

Jonouchi and group of staff members and Isono grabbed a section and carried it over to one side. Yugi met them at the next one. Jonouchi gaped at him. "You don't need to help. We're okay."

"It's fine." Yugi bent down with the others and they lifted once Jonouchi joined them.

The section was heavier than it looked, and his side screamed for each section they moved. Once they were done, Jonouchi tried to approach Yugi, but Yugi quickly excused himself to the bathroom and left before anyone could say anything.

Black spotted Yugi's vision as he walked down the corridor in search of a bathroom. The mansion was easier to maneuver with the lights on. He could have sworn there was one that was closer to the dining room, but at this point, he didn't particularly care. All he wanted was a bathroom. He opened and closed a few doors down the way to no avail. More spots. And the ringing in his ears grew louder. He opened a few more doors. And finally, he found a bathroom. He shut the door behind him, tossed the seat up, fell to his knees, and wretched. All the while he struggled to maintain consciousness. His body felt weak from suppressing his rib pain, but what else was he supposed to do? He could push through it and reserve medical supplies.

He gagged once more into the toilet and fell back to the wall. Curious, he lifted up his shirt. Up and down his right side was blue, black, and yellow, the ridges of his ribs disturbed. Yugi brought a hand to his face. It hurt more now just seeing it. He breathed in and out slowly, waiting for the pain to recede.

He needed to be strong. He didn't want to burden anyone, and he knew that he could push through this obstacle. It would be a struggle, but what else was he supposed to do to keep up morale?


End file.
